Published on January 2, 2025 at 4:56 p.m.
Winter is showing all its colors at the start of the year. After the rain and snow, the cold will settle in Quebec. Forecast.
The scarf in the spotlight
If you received a scarf, mittens or a new coat for Christmas, you will have the opportunity to show them off over the next few days. According to Bertin Ossonon, meteorologist at Météomédia:
The combination of a depression in northern Quebec and an anticyclone over the Prairies opens the door to a descent of arctic air which will pass through the Great Lakes to impose itself on Quebec.
The result will be a gradual drop in temperatures, but this should last several days.
10° below average
The weekend will be particularly cold in the south and west of the province. In Val-d’Or in particular, the mercury should not exceed -18° on Saturday and -14° on Sunday. The maximums will be similar to Mont-Laurier, with -15° Saturday and -14° Sunday. Montreal will not escape it with maximums of -11° on Saturday and Sunday. However, while most regions will see the mercury drop 8° to 10° below average for the season, areas in the east of the province will not even be touched by this cold air mass. In Sept-Îles, the maximum will be around -4° during the weekend, while it will be -5° in Gaspé.
Felt -20
Minimum temperatures should drop below -20° in Abitibi, and very close to this mark in Saguenay. In Montreal, the minimum should be close to -16° overnight from Saturday to Sunday, but the feeling could well reach -20. The feeling of cold could be even more accentuated with westerly winds which will blow with gusts to 40 km/h on Saturday.
Swimming at your own risk
Quebec will not be the only region in America to experience cold days and nights, far from it. Temperature anomalies will be more than 10° in some places in the United States. In Virginia Beach in particular, swimming will not be very popular with a minimum of -4°C on Sunday. In Nashville, line dancing will be done in winter boots with a low of -11°C mid-next week.
The sheltered north
We would tend to believe that northern Quebec will be freezing over the next few days. On the contrary, because the Arctic air mass will avoid these sectors. In Inukjuaq in particular, the mercury should reach 1° on Friday and 0° on Saturday. In Blanc-Sablon, rain will fall in the region with a maximum of 3° on Sunday.
With the collaboration of Bertin Ossonon, meteorologist.
